A bidding war may be about to break out for 21st Century Fox

FILE PHOTO: Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch poses for a photograph with his sons Lachlan and James as they arrive at St Bride's church for a service to celebrate the wedding between Murdoch and former supermodel Jerry Hall in London
Thomson Reuters

The news comes about a week after CNBC reported that Disney was recently in talks to buy most of 21st Century Fox.

It signals that the three companies may engage in a bidding war for the $54-billion owner of the Fox News Channel. The reported offers come amid rating declines across many large cable networks as more consumers opt for cheaper and more customizable web-based services.

A deal with Disney would have further trimmed 21st Century Fox's assets into a more focused slate of news and sports networks to better compete in a changing media landscape, the report said. 21st Century spun off News Corp., its publishing business, in 2013.

The acquisition would have excluded Fox News because Disney cannot own two broadcast networks. Disney bought ABC in 1996. 21st Century Fox would reportedly have kept its sports channels to avoid the regulatory scrutiny that would come with a tie-up with ESPN.

Disney was reportedly interested in buying Fox assets including its studio division, partial ownership of the UK telecoms company Sky, and networks such as National Geographic and FX.

21st Century Fox shares jumped 6% in after-hours trading on the news, while Comcast rose 1%.